Boat launching device



June 9, 1942. .1. l.. LARsoN 2,285,590

r BOAT LAUNCHING DEVICE Filed Feb. 2, l1940 s sheets-sheet 1 June 9,1942. J, LARSQN l 2,285,590

BOAT LAUNCHING DEVICE Filed Feb. 2, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Yyvzfof dal???l) @730 7@ June 9, 1942. J. L. LARsoN 2,285,590,

BOAT LAUNGHING DEVICE Filed Feb. 2, 1940 s sheets-sheet s A f "uw, nu

Patented June 9, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE BOAT LAUNCHING DEVICEJohn L. Larson, Chicago, Ill. Application February 2, 1940, Serial No.317,003

1 Claim.

My invention relates to structure for use in connection with life savingequipment aboard ship, especially with respect to life-boat launch-,

ing devices and structure therefore, namely, an improvement of themethod of launching life boats.

The main object of my invention is to provide a practical cran-estructure for launching lifeboats from either side of a ship.

Another object of my invention is to provide an efficient releasablehook structure for releasing the holding member which carries alife-boat.

Another object of my invention is to provide a net supporting means forcradling therein a life-boat in a balanced manner, and which is adaptedto be released at one point so as to free it from supporting engagementwith a lifeboat after the said life-boat has been launched.

Another object of my invention is to provide life-boat holding orcradling means which is provided with roller means in order to enablethe same to operate efficiently when conditions make it necessary. Thesaid cradling device thus being permitted to glide along or roll alongthe side of a ship when the said ship is listed over to an angle whichmakes such rolling on the side of ship absolutely imperative, in orderto effectively launch a life-boat.

Another object of the invention is to provide crane means provided witha. movable boom structure so as to permit launching life-boats from aship from either side of the ship when the said ship is listed over atan angle.

Another object of the invention is to provide horizontally rotatingcrane mechanism so as to adapt the said crane for launching a series oflife-boats on any or both sides of a ship.

Another object of the invention is to provide winch mechanism forcontrolling the operation of the said crane structure when launchinglifeboats from any side of a ship.

Another object of my invention is to provide a simple, practical, rigid,quick operating, and efficient structure for the purposes hereintoforementioned, and for those advantages and purposes herein t follow in theexplanation and description of my invention.

Other objects and features may become apparent from the accompanyingdrawings and descriptions 'elucidating how my invention is to be used.

Thruout the entire description like symbols will be used to designatelike parts and the views represent the following:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a ship showing the present standard formof davit structure and method of supporting life-boats.

Fig. 2 shows the ship after it has been struck, or for other reasons mayhave listed to the angular position indicated, and shows how only oneside of the ship may be used for launching lifeboats, at the same timeillustrating the inadequacy of the davit structure on the opposite side,showing how the gravitational action renders it impossible to launch andlower lifeboats.

Fig. 3 shows a top plan view of the life boats on a ship arranged inaccordance with the requirements of my invention, and also showspositioned therein my invention comprising the points at which suchcranes would be situated with respect to the life-boat arrangement orlayout indicated.

Fig, 4 shows the prow of a ship illustrating one of the crane structurescomprising my invention in normal and inoperative position.

Fig. 5 shows the same ship from the prow end listed over on an angle dueto having been struck by a torpedo, and shows how my invention may beutilized in launching life-boats from either side, and in contradistinction to the view of Figure 2, shows how Athe boom arrangementcomprising an important part of my invention is utilized to straddle thebeam of the ship and satisfactorily launch a life-boat if it should benecessary from the side of the ship listed inwardly.

Fig. 6 shows a fragmentary partially crosssectional view of the operablestructure embodied in the winch control comprising myinvention.

Fig. '7 is a side view thereof.

Fig. 8 shows a front elevation of the cradling member, a part of myinvention utilized for supporting a life-boat during the launchingoperation. i

Fig. 9 is an end View of the View shown in Figure 8.

Fig. 10 is a front view of the releasable hook structure comprising animportant part of my invention.

Fig. 11 is an end view of the one shown in Figure 10.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view showing therolling means embodied in the cradling member comprising part of myinvention.

Referring to the views Figure 1 and Figure 2,

'it can be seen that with the present method of of emergency when it isnecessary to launch life-boats it is a rather difficult task with thepresent system of davits. Much confusion results, especially because thepassengers on a ship,

at the time of such an emergency, are in a state of panic and chaosreigns supreme.

Men operating davits because of confusion and panic are constrained tooperate them inediciently and not as required. The davits indicated onthe drawings, Figures 1 and 2, as I4, on the ship generally designatedI3, are swung outward as indicated in the View Figure 2, and then arepermitted by virtue of control means and proper pulley structures tolower the life-boats I5 until they contact the surface of the water.

It can be seen that the life-boats are supported by two davits, and whenit comes to lowering the boat two men are in control and both must lowerat the same rate of speed and also start the lowering operationsimultaneously, otherwise one being lowered ahead of the other willcause the life-boat to upset angulariy and discharge its passengers.

I wish to call particular attention to the righthanded position of thedavit Id, and the lifeboat I5 when the ship is listed over, the centerline I6 showing the gravitational pull of the lifeboats demonstratesthat it is absolutely impossible to launch the life-boats which mayconconditions are such that only the life-boats I5 on the one side ofthe ship may be lowered as indicated in the view Figure 2, namely, onthe left hand side, that side of the ship may not be lee side, in whichevent considerable difliculty may be experienced because if it is theweather side the waves and unfavorable conditions tend to force thelife-boats back toward the ship and makes launching rather almostimpossible and very diicult. Whereas, if the right hand side should bethe lee side with the present form of davit the boats I5 on the righthand side could not be launched, and with the present system of davit,only one set of life-boats can be utilized, it would make it ratherinconvenient to remove the life-boats from the davits on theunlaunchable side, and attach them to the davit en the launching sidebecause there isnt sufficient time to do all such work in an emergency.

With my arrangement, I provide a crane structure which is located tohandle approximately four to six life-boats; in the view Figure 3 anarrangement handling four life-boats per crane is indicated. The davitstructures are rather expensive and altho my crane structure, perhaps,

might be somewhat more expensive to manufaczture, yet less of them wouldbe required and they would be more universally applicable to handlingthe lifeboats and launching them in the most efcient manner and thequickest time.

In the view Figure 3, the ship is designated by '1" made somewhat longerthan half the beam of the ship so as to straddle the side of the ship L'when the ship is listed over at an angle as shown in the view Figure 5.

Of course it goes without saying that my ar rangement as indicated bythe dotted lines in the view Figure 5 will operate favorably from theleft hand side, and will operate without any difficulty and just asefficiently from the right hand side of that view.

In Figure 5 an important part of my invention is designated by thenumeral 23 and which I call an instantly releasable hook, the purposesof which will be later described.

The boom I9 being pivotally secured to the main support member I5, iscontrolled by winch operation which will be later explained anddescribed, and provides the cable means 2| and 64 and pulleys 25, and 22to connect the same to the releasable hook generally designated 23. Thecable 64 is connected to the winch construction by virtue of an idlerpulley indicated 24 in the View Figure 5.

Referring to the detailed structural Views Figure 6 and Figure 7, I showthe winch mechanism utilized for operating the boom structure as Well asthe cable structure for lowering lifeboats, once the boom has beenpositioned so as to launch life-boats eciently.

Referring to the views Figure 6 and Figure 7, the mast or main supportmember as shown at I8 is secured to a flanged casting 25, which isprovided with bevel gear teeth and is provided with a recess 35 toreceive the mast I8 which is further secured to the hub 2'! by virtue ofa large pin 25 which is strong enough to prevent rotation of the mast I8with respect to the cast member 25, securing the two members Z'I and I8rigidly.

The member 25 is further provided with a ball-bearing track or raceway29, and is adapted 'l to house the ball-bearings designated 3i) whichare also located within a track in the flange casting 3| in order thatthe gear 25 may rotate freely whenever the handle 43 is operated so asto position the entire crane structure at a proper angleto be anchoredto a life-boat for launching the said life-boat from its originalposition on the ship.

In view of the fact that four of the life-boats in this particularinstance are operated by each crane structure, I provide gearingmechanism to either rotate the crane to an angle of about 275 degrees orthe crane structure may operate within the full 350 degrees, of course,which ever is found the most desirable and the most preferable methodmay be utilized.

The casting 3| is secured to the boat deck of the ship 39 by means ofbolts 33 and nuts 34 secured to the lower flange 32. The hub of the gearcasting 25 is provided with an extension 36 which may be secured to thedeck 39 by nut 31 or any other suitable method may be utilized whichwill conform with ship building requirements and which will affordrigidity to the entire structural arrangement as applied to liftefciently the tonnage or weight necessary.

It is a matter of engineering design to proportion the parts to be madestrong and sufficiently durable for the purposes needed.

The gear 28 meshes with a gear 42 which is mounted on a shaft 4d securedto the handle 43,

the gear and shaft being mounted in a suitable bearing in the bearingblock 38 which is provided with a flange portion d!) in order to securep it rigidly to the deck of the ship by bolts and nuts 4I.

In order to allocate the crane structure to the one to position inalignment and close proximity the engaging portion of the hook 23 toengage the net 61 which is provided for cradling the life-boats beforeand while launching the same.

The cable 64 and the cable 2| are provided in order to permit paying outcable or taking in or winding up cable whenever it is desired toposition the boom to a certain angular position to straddle the beam ofthe ship so as to afford a favorable position of the boom top portion,thus permitting the operator to launch life-boats to the surface of thewater clear of the side of the ship whenever conditions permit suchlaunching.

The Winch structure and gear structure also enables the operator by asecond winch arrangement to control the operations of the cable once theboom has been positioned so as to lower the life-boats to the surface ofthe water.

The means or structure for controlling or paying out or reeling in ofthe cables 64 and 2| is represented and clearly indicated in the viewFigure '7.

The dual winch structure is comprised of a frame work 53 which isprovided with two circularly bent portions 94 in order to secure thesame rigidly and rmly to the mast I 8. The structure 53 is provided withsuitable bearings to receive the winch pulleys 55 and the shaft uponwhich they are secured 56. Both Winches are geared to be operated thruthe handles 51 and 58 either by hand power, or they may be motorized anddriven either by a belt drive, chain drive, or other suitable means ofpower transmission.

In the form shown, the structure for hand method operation isillustrated. The handle members 51 and 58 are secured to shafts whichare mounted in the member 53 and are connected or secured to the pinions62 and 63 respectively. The pinions 62 and 63 in turn mesh with thegears 60 and 6| secured to the shafts 56 of the two winch members. Thegears 68 and 6| are held in checking or locked engagement by the pawls54 and 59 which are pivoted in the frame work 53 and are manuallyoperable for release, or holding engagement.

The extension on the right hand side of the shaft 56 has mounted thereonthe pulleys 52 and 49 which act as brake drums, being engaged by thebelt structure and 48 respectively, one end of the belt structure beingsecured to the member 95 which is a pin or other clamping structuresecured to the frame work 53 the other winch braking structure belt 48being secured to the pin 96.

The brake controls 45 and 46 are pivoted in the frame work and areprovided with clamping blocks 58 and 41 secured to the opposite ends ofthe belt 48 and 5|. Thus by rotating the handle members or controls 45and 46 toward the observer a tightening of the belt is effected which inturn provides braking action to the drums.

The winch reel 55 in either case may be operated by turning the crankhandles 51 or 58 depending on what is needed to be done. The upper winchstructure is provided in order to pay out enough cable to position theboom I9 in a suitable relation angularly with the mast I 8, so that theupper-most tip portion of the boom I9 will effectively clear andstraddle the beam 0f the ship so as to permit launching in the mosteicient manner.

The lower winch is used for the purpose of paying out sufficient cableand thus lowering the life-boat once it has been secured in a manner tobe hereinafterexplained preparatory to launching purposes.

The mast is thus positioned in the proper angular relation to the boom,the mast and boom together are positioned with respect to the properallocation of the respective life-boats I5 by means of the bevel gearmechanism 42 and 28 operated by the handle member 43, which asheretofore mentioned is utilized for setting the crane structure withinany one of four respective angles, inasmuch as in this particular caseeach crane handles four boats two on each side, and as heretoforeexplained may be made to operate within the complete circle of 360degrees, or an arc of 275 degrees would cover points in all directionssufficient to handle four life-boats.

The cable arrangement thru the proper pulleys indicated in the View ofFigure 5 is connected to the link 18 which in turn supports the generalstructure 23 in the views Figures 9, 10, and 11. The hook 23 is made upof a main body portion 16 provided with a hole 11 to which is securedswivelably the loop 18 which in turn is attached to the cable.

The body of the hook is shaped approximately as indicated, and isprovided with a'lower arm 19 terminating in a bearing secured to receivethe bearing pin or stud 93 upon which is pivotably secured the hasp orclosing portion 82 holding one of the links 92 attached to the cables-66 secured to the net structure 61.

The other end of the net 61 is also attached to a series of three ormore cables 66 which are connected to a similar link 92 and positionedas indicated in the drawings Figure 10 slightly to the right and belowthe pivot 9| of the member 84. The reason for this arrangement will behereinafter described.

Particular attention is directed to the cutout portion 88 andtheangularly toothed portion 8|, as well as the locking of the faces 83.The purpose of this arrangement is to fool-proof the operation of thehook for when a boat is launched, and the waves have a tendency to throwthe releasable ring 92 within the area 89, the portion 8l protects thereleasable portion of the hook namely the member 84 from releasing thehasp member 82, because the link 92 cannot strike the member 84 due tothe shape of the recess 8 I.

The member 84 is pivoted at a point 9| and is provided with a slottedportion 85 to fit the member 'I6 and straddle it, provided also with aportion which holds in locking engagement the hasp 82. The extension 84on the lefthand side is held normally in a locked or downward positionto hold the hasp 82 in locked position, it being held normally lockedunder spring tension 86 which is secured to the member 16 at a point 81and at a point 88 to the right handed portion of the member 84.

At the extreme right hand portion -of the member 84, at the point 98, areleasing rope or cable 89 is attached so that the member 84 may bemoved to the dotted position indicated in that View, thus disengagingthe hasp and permitting the ring 92 supported on this hasp to be freedfrom engaging with the hook 'I6 thus the net 61 will be supported by theone point of support, the ring 92 shown in permanent engagement with thehook 16.

the ship by the crane so that it may be placed under another life-boatl5 as indicated in the views Figure 8 and Figure 91, andonce morereleasably secured by the releasable hook 23 for freeingV the same assoon as it has been safely launched.'

The life-boats preferably for the purposes and mest efficient operationof my arrangement, are mounted in cradles 38 having V shaped supportrecesses 69 and-the net E1 ismade so as to conveniently fitwithin-theincrement of space between the supports 68'.

Thelife-boat is provided locating cleats 'Il so that the net will berigidly secured to the life-boats and the life-boats properly locatedtherein and prevent slipping out if there should be more weight on oneend of the life-boat than at the opposite end, thus to prevent the boatfrom being accidently released from the cradle netting 6i.

In some instances Where'the angle of list of a shipmay he so great thatthe boom is not long enough to straddle the extreme point of the side ofthe ship, it may be necessary to have the boat launching arrangement somade that it will be able to move downwardly along side of the shipwithoutv any interference, hence for this purpose the ball-bearing units'ill are provided.

A large cross-section is shown in Figure 2.2

whereas Figure 8 depicts the arrangement showing one or more of theseunits may be used as shown on each side in Figure 8 and Figure threebeing indicated on each side in order to furnish a rolling feature whenthe side of the life-boat comes in contact with the side of the ship.The rollers will facilitate travel on the side 0f the ship and thelife-boat will bear against the side of the ship and be pulled down bygravitation until it reaches the surface of the water.

The construction Figure l2 brings out carc fully theV details ofconstruction, the netting @l is shown as being clamped at certainportions by the flanges l2 and i3, the flanges being held together byscrews and bolts 5%. rlhe ange i3 is provided with an extension or hub'ill which terminates at a point 'i5 past the geometric center of theball-bearing 'lil in order that the ball may be free to rotate withinthe hub recess "i4 and yet will not be released therefrom because of thegeometrical structural arrangement heretofore explained.

The free end of the ball-bearing 'id is disposed so as to operateagainst the side of a ship whenever conditions make it necessary.

In operation the use of my device is roughly i as follows:

When an emergency arises and the boat is listed over, life-boats fromeither side of the vessel or ship may be utilized simply and readily byvirtue of my crane structure. My crane structure is rst operated thruthe crank mechanism 43 and the gearing 62 and Z3 in order to position itin a proper angular relation so as to `line ujo with the particularlife-boat that is ready to be launched and which has been fLlled withpassengers.

The life-boat is filled with passengers, then the free end of thenetting 61 is passed under the life-boat in between the supports S8 asindicated in Figure 8, and the free end with the ring 32 is secured tothe releasable hook member It by passing the same over the hasp member82and then snapping. the arrangement Br-to lock the hook into position.

After this has been done, the life-boat l5 is lifted off the supports68, the boom is then swung out to the proper angular relation so as tostraddle and clear the side of the shipor half of the beam of the ship,and by utilizing the winch arrangement 5'! heretofore described thruoperation of the handle 5l and the brake control 45. After the boom i 9has been brought to the proper position for launching, then the cable 2lis paid out from the lower winch by operating the control handle member58 and the brake control member et so that the speed of lowering issuitably governed.

'I'he check pawls 56 and 54 are utilized for loclo ing in Xed engagementthe boom position once it has been determined and any one boom positionwill serve to launch the two boats on that side. rIhe position of theboom will have to be changed for launching the two boats from the sidewhere the boat lists inwardly. The greatest feature of the boom isproviding a span are rangement for the side of the ship that listsinwardly.

All cranes can be manned and controlled simultaneously thus furthergiving maximum eiiiciency thru my method of launching life-boats in suchcases as emergencies where time is of the essence and every minutecounts.

When the boat is launched and restiner safely on the surface of thewater, the man in charge of the life-boat pulls the release rope orcable thus releasing the hasp 82 from engagement and thru permitting thefree end of the releasable portion of the net 92 to be released fromengagement from the hook, and to be pulled out from underneath thelife-boat.

The netting being used preferably to minimize water resistance, sincethe water will not offer resistance to its being brought back to the topof the ship for use with launching another lifeboat. This operation isrepeated until all the life-boats have been launched and all thepassengers have been delivered to safety in lifeboats.

Altho I have herein indicated a preferred form of my invention, it isunderstood that I reserve the right to any and all modications withinthe scope and spirit of my invention. I realize that the same issusceptible of many improvements, alterations, and modifications, and Ireserve the right thereto; my invention to be limited only by theappended claim.

Having thus revealed my invention what I claim as new andv desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

In an apparatus of the character described, life-boat cradling supportmeans comprising, exible wire mesh means, cable means secured to each oftwo opposite ends of said flexible wire mesh means, the said cable meanshaving secured thereto hook attaching means adapted to attach one cablemeans permanently to a hook and attach the other cable means releasablyto the said hook, the said iieXible wire mesh means provided with ballbearing means secured in close proximity to the ends to which the saidcable means is attached.

JOI-IN L. 'LARSON`

